Issue - meetings

As detailed in the recommendation.

                        Councillor Butler introduced the Specialist Housing report which set out the current work being undertaken in Flintshire to provide homes for people with specialist housing needs, identifying the scale of demand and the approach by partners to develop a holistic and equitable process.

                        Specialist housing, also called accessible housing, met the needs of a specific group of people including people with disabilities, primarily physical disabilities, and older people who became less mobile.

                        The aim of providing accessible homes though adaptations enabled people to live independently and where possible to remain in their own home.  It was fundamental to the Equalities Act 2010 and the goals of the Well-being for Future Generations Act (Wales) 2015 by contributing to a more equal Wales and healthier Wales.

                        The Chief Officer (Housing and Assets) explained that in 2017 Flintshire County Council developed a Specialist Housing Register which identified all the households where there was a physically disabled resident who required accessible housing.  More recently households that required larger properties (i.e. 5 bedrooms or more) had also been included as there were few properties that could meet that particular need.

                        The households on the Specialist Housing Register were also on the wider Single Access Route to Housing (SARTH) register and had been banded accordingly.  A breakdown of the 51 households on the Specialist Housing Register was provided in the report.  The Specialist Housing Group met on a monthly basis to look at the register and identify possible options to find suitable accommodation for each case.  Since 2017 a total of 47 households had been rehoused into more suitable accommodation with a further 6 provisionally allocated.

                        Two case studies outlined in the report demonstrated where providing accessible homes made a difference to people’s lives.

                        Councillor Bithell welcomed the report, in particular the inclusion of households that required larger properties.

                        In response to a comment from Councillor Thomas, the Chief Officer explained that the Council had a significant number of bungalows in its stock.  At times some did require adaptations and he emphasised that the aim of providing accessible homes through adaptations enabled people to live independently and where possible remain in their own home for as long as possible.

            RESOLVED:

That the work of the specialist Housing Group in reducing the number of people on the specialist housing register be noted and supported.